Organization for cities more than 7.5 million Californians call home joins BRITE's statewide coalition citing shared, urgent stakes: 'California needs to be more resilient -- structurally and legally'

PR Newswire

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 23, 2018

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Contract Cities Association joined the BRITE Coalition today to bring renewed emphasis to the public-sector imperatives in state legislation to address the growing threat of wildfires and other extreme events caused by climate change. The BRITE Coalition is a group of over 1,000 concerned citizens, labor unions, community organizations and energy companies that includes organizations such as the Bay Area Council, the Urban League of Los Angeles, the Latino Leadership and Policy Forum, Equality California, Climate Resolve, the Center for Sustainable Energy, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, Alameda County Firefighters Local 55 and the California Municipal Utilities Association.

The addition of the California Contract Cities Association comes at an important juncture, both for the issues in Sacramento and for the fast-growing statewide coalition. With California's wildfire season off to its worst start in a decade, according to state and federal statistics, the legislature's newly appointed Conference Committee on Wildfire Preparedness and Response will soon hold hearings and begin making decisions on how to strengthen preparations and shape policies that are appropriate to California's "new normal."

The California Contract Cities Association represents more than 76-member cities representing more than 7.5 million residents. It was among a group of additions to come on a day that lifted BRITE above the 1,000-member mark — more than tripling in size since it first launched in mid-May.

"As the statewide organization representing municipalities that contract for many of their public services, the California Contract Cities Association recognizes the stake we all share in principles represented by the BRITE coalition," said Marcel Rodarte, the organization's executive director. "As the effects of climate change worsen, California needs to be more resilient — structurally and legally. We need stronger infrastructure and stable utilities for a successful economy, and we need these reforms urgently. They matter to all of us, in the private sector and public sector alike."

The fast growth for BRITE — which stands for "Building Resilient Infrastructure for Tomorrow's Economy" — also reflects an increasing diversity of interests and communities, from all across the state. They're taking part in the BRITE coalition's advocacy: for stronger energy infrastructure; for reforming an overbroad "inverse condemnation" policy — virtually unique to California — that puts non-negligent utilities on the hook to pay unlimited damages from wildfire catastrophes; to ensure our first responders have the resources they need to protect our communities; and to keep up California's fight to meet its clean-energy and carbon-reduction goals.